Following hot on the heels of other Six Flags parks that each introduced a virtual reality element to one of their roller coasters earlier this year, like The New Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has just announced they want in on the action too. This fall, the park will close their floorless looping roller coaster Kong, and begin the transformation into Rage of the Gargoyles, an interactive Virtual Reality coaster experience featuring Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus.

Changes will include modified restraints and enhanced track work. It is expected to reopen, with the virtual reality experience as an option, in time for the start of the annual Fright Fest event on September 24th.

“Six Flags is the leader in innovation and thrills and we are excited to introduce the VR coaster experiences to our guests at Discovery Kingdom. In Rage of the Gargoyles, the experience is immersive and terrifying as riders shoot at the demons throughout the entire ride ‒ the perfect addition to our Fright Fest line-up.” -Don McCoy, park president

The highlights include:

High-definition imagery and storytelling that sync with the track configuration creating a one-of-a-kind “real world” to “virtual world” thrill-ride

For the first time ever on a rollercoaster, riders can engage in interactive gaming throughout the entire ride experience by shooting at flying demons

Unique sophisticated head-movement targeting to instantly lock on a moving target without the need for a touchpad or buttons to fire

The realistic theme puts the rider in the action similar to a video game experience. Riders are pilots seated in the cockpit of an Apache-style helicopter, flying through a devastated cityscape of a dark and dreary future as part of a fleet of choppers ready to battle winged creatures to the end. Both the pilot and their realistic foes are virtually engaged in a battle all while racing over the 2,170 feet of twisting, turning, looping coaster track.

The action starts quickly when riders ascend up the lift hill while realistic, blood-thirsty gargoyles terrorize them by scratching and clawing, jumping mercilessly atop the seemingly fragile glass barrier as the rider tries desperately to shoot their demonic targets. The epic conflict accelerates as riders are forced to navigate through the hazardous city streets, up and over broken-down skyscrapers while avoiding obstacles and lethal assaults from the gargoyles, all the while shooting to repel the demons. It is up to the pilot to attack the vicious master gargoyle, who is vehement on challenging anyone who crosses his path. There is a surprise ending that will be sure to leave riders shocked and amazed.

Here is a video of what you can expect:

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One Comment

Chuck Whiteley III

08/12/2016 at 6:32 am

They are going to need to do a ton of work. That specific Vekoma coaster makes me feel like I received not only massive head trauma, but it also wrecks my back pretty good. It’s really bad. I ride it pretty much every year when I’m at SFDK, but this year I could only handle it 1 time. I wish they would swap it out with a B&M Invert with the same layout.